Handling Food Complaints: What You Need to Know

Types of Food Complaints

Food safety teams deal with various types of complaints:

• Food that is unsafe to eat or causes illness.
• Foods so contaminated that they are inedible (e.g., mouldy food).
• Food containing foreign objects like plaster or glass.
• Chemical contamination and improper use of additives.
• Food composition issues (e.g., mislabelled sausages).
• Labelling offences and misleading claims.

Handling Complaints

Steps taken by food safety teams when addressing complaints:

• Formal action requires evidence of public health risk and negligence by the company.
• Complaints that pose no health risk (e.g., insects in canned foods) are not typically pursued.
• Food safety teams do not handle compensation claims; these are civil matters dealt with by manufacturers and courts.
• Enforcement actions are guided by council policies.

Dealing with Specific Complaints

Examples of specific food complaints and their handling:

• Foreign objects in food (e.g., plaster in a cake) warrant investigation if they pose a health risk.
• Tinned food complaints involving insects are addressed; however, canned foods are typically safe due to sterilisation processes.